NSW Mining Compliance Priorities

What NSW Contractors Should Do Now to Stay Site-Ready

In the mining industry, "site-ready" isn't just a buzzword - it’s the difference between a profitable shift and a costly gate turnaround.

The NSW Resources Regulator has released its compliance priorities for January to June 2026. This isn’t just a list of rules; it’s a roadmap of where inspectors will be focusing their attention, what they’ll be auditing, and the areas most at risk of attracting non‑compliance notices.

For contractors, this is a "cheat sheet" for the next six months. If you know what the Regulator is focusing on, you can ensure your team is compliant before you even hit the site gate.

Here is a breakdown of the 2026 priorities and how you can prepare your workforce to be the contractor everyone calls.

What "Compliance Priorities" Actually Mean for You

The Regulator uses a risk-based approach. They look at industry trends, incident reports, and global data to decide where the biggest dangers are. When they set a "priority," it means they are planning targeted assessment programs (TAPs) and planned inspection programs (PIPs).

In plain English: Expect more questions, more audits, and a higher bar for evidence regarding these specific topics.

The Big Three: Safety Themes for 2026

The Regulator has highlighted three major areas where they want to see better management and tighter controls.

1. Tailings Dam Integrity

Following several international failures, the Regulator is focused on reducing the risk of catastrophic tailings dam failure in NSW. As part of planned inspections, they’ll be reviewing critical controls like Principal Hazard Management Plans (PHMPs), dam break studies, failure mode analyses, and the effectiveness of monitoring systems.

• The Contractor Angle: If your team works on or near tailings facilities, ensure your specific inductions and hazard awareness training are up to date and documented.

2. Entanglement Risks in Quarries
Between 2024 and 2025, the Regulator issued over 800 notices, many related to guardings on fixed and mobile plants. They are doubling down on this.

• The Contractor Angle: If you provide equipment or maintenance workers, your Mechanical Engineering Control Plan (MECP) needs to be airtight. Ensure every piece of plant has compliant guarding and that your pre-start checks actually verify this.

3. PHMP and PCP Effectiveness
It’s not enough to have a plan on a shelf. Inspectors want to see that workers are actually aware of the controls in their Principal Hazard Management Plans (PHMPs) and Principal Control Plans (PCPs).

• The Contractor Angle: Can your operators explain the critical controls for their job? If an inspector asks a worker how they manage a specific hazard, "I don't know" is a fast track to a non-compliance notice for the site - and a bad reputation for your company.

The "Inspection Reality": What Gets Checked

Beyond the big themes, the Regulator has listed specific assessment programs for Coal, Metalliferous, and Small Mines. Common threads include:

• Training and Apprentices: Are your people actually qualified for the tasks they’re doing?
• Emergency Management: Do your teams know the escape routes? Are your hazardous chemical records accurate?
• Psychosocial Harm: This is a growing focus. Recent Safety Bulletins have raised concerns about how psychosocial incidents are reported. The 2026 priorities now explicitly include exposure to psychosocial harm, which means the Regulator is looking at how you manage the mental and social health of your workforce, not just their physical safety.

Your 2026 Readiness Checklist

To stay ahead of these priorities, run through this checklist for every worker you plan to mobilise:

• Verify Competencies: Don't just take a worker's word for it. Have a digital copy of every ticket, induction, and medical.
• Audit Your Training Records: Ensure apprentices and trainees are being supervised and documented according to the latest statutory requirements.
• Refresh Hazard Awareness: Run a toolbox talk specifically on the Regulator’s 2026 priorities (like entanglement or emergency egress) so the info is fresh if an inspector visits.
• Check Your Equipment: If you’re bringing assets onto a site, ensure maintenance logs and certification tracking are current and accessible 24/7.

Or Turn your Checklist into a System

A checklist only works if it’s easy to follow every time - especially when you’re mobilising fast, across multiple sites, with different requirements.

This is where GO! Site Ready earns its keep. Instead of chasing screenshots, scanning inboxes, and guessing what’s current, you can use one place to:

• Track tickets, inductions and medicals with expiry dates, so you can spot issues early (not at 5am on mobilisation day).
• Store proof (training records, licences, documents) against each worker, so you can pull it up when someone asks.
• Match people to site requirements faster, because you can see who is available and compliant before you lock in the job.
• Keep an audit-ready trail - so “we did the checks” isn’t a claim, it’s something you can show

The Regulator’s Jan–Jun 2026 priorities make one thing clear: sites will want evidence that controls are understood, training is current, and risks are being managed properly. GO! Site Ready helps you keep that evidence organised - without turning your week into admin.